Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1182424
4 UCW NOVEMBER 6-12, 2019 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/EDITOR Stephanie Crider editor@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Jenna Shackelford jenna@upandcomingweekly.com HOPE MILLS AND SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR Earl Vaughan Jr. EarlUCWSports@gmail.com REPORTER Jeff Thompson news@upandcomingweekly.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Elizabeth Baker art@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING ASSOCIATE Linda McAlister Brown linda@upandcomingweekly.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER/SALES ADMINISTRATOR Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS D.G. Martin, Pitt Dickey, Margaret Dickson, Karl Merritt, John Hood, Jim Jones, Shanessa Fenner, Prudence Mainor, Avery Powers, Elizabeth Blevins, Crissy Neville ––––––––––– Up & Coming Weekly www.upandcomingweekly.com 208 Rowan St. P.O. Box 53461 Fayetteville, NC 28305 PHONE: 910-484-6200 FAX: 910-484-9218 Up & Coming Weekly is a "Quality of Life" publication with local features, news and information on what's happening in and around the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community. Up & Coming Weekly is published weekly on Wednesdays. Up & Coming Weekly welcomes manuscripts, photographs and artwork for publication consideration, but assumes no responsibility for them. We cannot accept responsibility for the return of unso- licited manuscripts or material. Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to edit or reject copy submitted for publication. Up & Coming Weekly is free of charge and distributed at indoor and outdoor locations throughout Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base, Hope Mills and Spring Lake. Readers are limited to one copy per person. © 2019 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited. Various ads with art graphics designed with elements from: vecteezy.com and freepik.com. My commitment to Fayetteville residents by TISHA WADDELL PUBLISHER'S PEN For 24 years this space has been reserved to opine about, showcase and accentuate local community events, initiatives and issues affecting the health, welfare and quality of life of all residents of Fayetteville and Cumberland County. Recently, Karl Merritt, Rep. Billy Richard- son, and now, District 3 Councilwoman Tishsa Waddell have written and edito- rialized in my space. ese folks — two men, one woman, two black/one white, one Republican, one Democrat and one Independent — all have a passion for this community, and all are committed to do- ing the right things for the right reasons. is commitment and their willing partic- ipation is our endorsement. Enjoy! — Bill Bowman, publisher Two years ago, you gave me a chance to be trusted to work diligently for you — and I don't take that lightly. My goals have been open communication with my district and other governing bodies, a truthful representation of who you are and what you want and employment and workforce development, not only for youth but also for displaced adult workers. I have gained the support and respect of most of my peers and have done so without compromising my character. I know above all that I have to represent you in the best possible light because when people see me, they judge my whole district. I've remained present for individu- als and groups throughout our district, focusing on the priorities you wanted to be established throughout my term, and I have challenged conventional govern- ing and openly discussed concerns so that my constituency base could be well- informed about pending decisions but also be knowledgeable about procedure, so that no member of government at our level could use misleading tactics to gain their trust all while circumventing their voices. rough my tenure, residents remind me that they want the city's help to restore safety and beautification within its borders, and they want the property values of their homes to stop declining and experience an upward shift. ey deserve to be well supported by their tax-funded city services and well repre- sented by their council member in public and behind closed doors. In response, we (city council) worked to increase (police) patrol, ensuring these residents remain safe. I continue to make sure our staff remains responsive when concerns are raised regarding any other issues like trash collection, speeding and other nuisance activity. Additionally, I advocated for a home- ownership program that would specifi- cally target our aging neighborhoods to create a more dominant presence of owner-occupied homes. As a result, the "Neighbor Next Door" program was created, and I was able to partner with members of the council to secure $400,000 in operating funds in our cur- rent budget. Police officers will be incen- tivized to purchase homes in designated areas through a $20,000 forgivable home loan, and I'll be working to expand this program to teachers through collabora- tive funding with Cumberland County and am hopeful this will happen within the first 12 months of the program. Residents across the city, and most certainly in my district, have expressed multiple concerns for pedestrian safety and stormwater solutions. Under the leadership of Councilmember Johnny Dawkins, I have worked to shape a city- funded stormwater infrastructure repair program, which to date, has $2.2 mil- lion allocated this year alone for repair projects on private property. is is a big deal because we are finally showing a serious commitment to investing in our infrastructure. I am also an advocate for sidewalk installation along heavily walked routes. My family and I walk along Rosehill Road, Ramsey Street, McArthur Road and Country Club Road often for health and recreational purposes. I am famil- iar with the dangers faced by our lack of sidewalks. I have been pushing for increased funding and an expedited schedule for completion of this work. During the recent budget process, there was hesitation on behalf of a member of our board about having conversations — public conversations — regarding infrastructure and public safety bonds before the election due to the possibility that it could become a focal point, which could present challenges during some re-election campaigns. Bonds are usually secured through an increase in taxa- tion. While I was not advocating for an increase in taxation, I did feel we owed it to the citizens of this community to look into options for repairing our streets and installing sidewalks. I addressed these concerns in writing to that member and cc'd the mayor pro tem. e member took no responsibility for their actions or the outcome. I was the only person to vote "NO" for the current budget, and the primary reason was because of the refusal to consider the most pressing needs of the community at large where sidewalks and street resurfacing is con- cerned and the two-faced way "no new fees" was highlighted by some, knowing that their intention is to raise fees in this off-election cycle budget. Without fail, I continue to work to ensure the installation of crosswalks and other safety measures to protect our walkers, as is evidenced by my most recent request to consider options for resurfacing, which this time was unani- mously approved by council. I have confidence in each of you that when it is time to decide how to move forward with the work at hand, we will continue as partners. My proven record of leadership, commitment to open and transparent communication and abil- ity to gain support from my peers has helped keep the needs of our district and our city and it's citizens at the forefront and gives us confidence as we look ahead to the next two years. Residents across the city, and most certainly in District 3, have expressed multiple concerns for pedestrian safety and stormwater solutions. TISHA WADDELL, District 3 City Councilwoman. COMMENTS? BILL@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200.